MANILA – National University Lady Bulldogs moved on the cusp of the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tiara after its 25-20, 25-12, 25-21 sweep of De La Salle University Lady Spikers in Game 1 of the finals on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Mhicaela Belen tallied double-double 15 points and 13 excellent receptions, while fellow rookie Alyssa Solomon also contributed 15 markers, with two service aces, for the Lady Bulldogs.
Ilongga Princess Ann Robles and Ivy Lacsina chimed in 12 points apiece, while Guimarasnon Camille Lamina distributed the ball well to end up with 20 excellent sets for NU.
“Hindi pa po masyado ‘yung game namin kasi may parts po ng game na nagso-slow down kami,” said Belen despite NU dominating all departments, especially the blocking and serving categories, 11-3 and 8-2, respectively.
Knotted at seven in the first set, the Lady Bulldogs went on a 9-2 blast, capped by two errors from Lady Spikers rookie Alleiah Malaluan to pull away at 16-9 en route to a 25-20 scoreline for the early lead.
It was the same midway scoring surge for the Lady Bulldogs that let them run away in the second frame, going on a 16-5 scoring attack to masterfully move a set away from a sweep, 25-12.
The Lady Spikers, however, showed some life in the third set as they were only down 20-22 but Solomon hammered back-to-back powerful hits via a crosscourt kill and a backrow attack before Belen ended the match with an attack.
“Ginamit namin ‘yung time ng stepladder para makapag-prepare kami. Una nag-polish muna kami ng galaw namin,” said Lady Bulldogs head coach Karl Dimaculangan. “Nung nalaman na namin na La Salle ‘yung kalaban namin, doon na kami nag-aral.”
Leila Cruz was the highest scorer for the Lady Spikers with just six points, while Mereophe Sharma, Jolina Dela Cruz, and Malaluan were all checked by the defense as they ended up with five markers each.
The Lady Bulldogs will try to earn their first UAAP women’s volleyball championship since 1957 on Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., at the same venue aside from possibly ending the tournament undefeated./PN
